Chatham AP Final: Lit Terms
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| 270364618 | allegory | an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances | |
| 270364619 | alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds | |
| 270364620 | allusion | a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. | |
| 270364621 | ambiguity | The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. | |
| 270364622 | antithesis | A statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced. Words, phrases, clauses, or sentences set in deliberate contrast to one another. A species of parallelism, antithesis balances opposing ideas, feelings, tones, or structures, giving crisp expression to their pairing and heightening its effect. | |
| 270364623 | aphorism | a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life. Examples: "Early bird gets the worm." "What goes around, comes around.." "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." | |
| 270364624 | apostrophe | Addressing something nonhuman as if it were human | |
| 270364625 | atmosphere | The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene | |
| 270364626 | chiasmus | A figure of speech that reverses the order of words in phrases that would otherwise be structured the same. (e.g. Heaven is too great for humanity; humanity is too great for heaven) | |
| 270364627 | colloquialism | conversational; informal in language | |
| 270364628 | conceit | a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects | |
| 270364629 | connotation | what a word suggests beyond its surface definition | |
| 270364630 | denotation | the exact/literal meaning of a word, as found in the dictionary | |
| 270364631 | dialect | a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group | |
| 270364632 | didactic | intended to teach; inclined to teach excessively | |
| 270364633 | diction | A writer's or speaker's choice of words | |
| 270364634 | euphemism | a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term | |
| 270364635 | extended metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work. | |
| 270364636 | hyperbole | extreme exaggeratio | |
| 270364637 | imagery | description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) | |
| 270364638 | verbal irony | words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning | |
| 270364639 | situational irony | events turn out the opposite of what you expected | |
| 270364640 | dramatic irony | facts/events are unknown to a character but known to the reader | |
| 270364641 | irony | the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually happens | |
| 270364642 | metaphor | a comparison without using like or as | |
| 270364643 | mood | the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage | |
| 270364644 | onomatopoeia | the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent. | |
| 270364645 | oxymoron | a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly." | |
| 270364646 | paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality contains some degree of truth. | |
| 270364647 | parallelism | The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity | |
| 270364648 | parody | a humorous imitation of a serious work | |
| 270364649 | personification | giving human qualities to animals or objects | |
| 270364650 | point of view | the perspective from which a story is told (first-person narrative, or third-person narrative/ omniscent) | |
| 270364651 | metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it | |
| 270364652 | rhetoric | the art of presenting ideas in a clear, effective, and persuasive manner | |
| 270364653 | rhetorical question | a question asked for an effect, not actually requiring an answer | |
| 270364654 | sarcasm | sneering and often ironic language intended to hurt a person's feelings | |
| 270364655 | satire | language or writing that exposes follies or abuses by holding them up to ridicule | |
| 270364656 | simile | comparison using like or as | |
| 270364657 | style | the arrangement of words in a way that best expresses the author's individuality, idea, intent | |
| 270364658 | syllogism | a three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise ("All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.") | |
| 270364659 | syntax | sentence structure | |
| 270364660 | symbol | something that stands for something else | |
| 270364661 | theme | the main idea of the story | |
| 270364662 | thesis | the primary position taken by a writer or speaker | |
| 270364663 | tone | The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous). | |
| 270364664 | analogy | A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things | |
| 270364665 | ad hominen argument | argument that appeals to motion rather than reason, to feeling rather than intellect | |
| 270364666 | caricature | A grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things | |
| 270364667 | figurative language | Also called figure of speech. In contrast to literal language, it implies meanings. Includes metaphors, similes, and personification, among others. | |
| 270364668 | invective | A direct verbal assault; a denunciation | |
| 270364669 | genre | A term used to describe literary forms, such as novel, play, and essay | |
| 270364670 | wit | The quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that suprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene | |
| 270364671 | narrative | A form of verse or prose that tells a story | |
| 270364672 | prose | the ordinary form of written language. Technically, anything that isn't poetry or drama | |
| 270364673 | pedantic | decribes a tone that is generally scholarly or academic | |
| 270364674 | periodic sentence | a complex sentence in which the main clause comes last and is preceded by the subordinate clause | |
| 270364675 | homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. | |
| 270364676 | infer | conclude by reasoningfrom information presented | |
| 270364677 | juxtaposition | Placing dissimilar items,descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison | |
| 270364678 | loose sentence | a complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows | |
| 270364679 | subject complement | is a word or group of words that follows a linking verb and renames or describes the subject. | |
| 270364680 | subordinate clause | a clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb | |
| 270364681 | predicate adjectives | An adjective, group of adjectives, or adjecive clause that follows a linking verb | |
| 270364682 | predicate nominative | a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject | |
| 270364683 | repetition | the repeated use of the sameelement of language as a rhetorical device | |
| 270364684 | logos | an appeal based on logic or reason | |
| 270364685 | pathos | appeal to emotion | |
| 270364686 | ethos | an appeal based on the character/reputation/ credibility of the speaker. | |
| 270364687 | rhetorical modes | exposition, argumentation description, narration | |
| 270364688 | exposition | The introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters, and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story. | |
| 270364689 | argumentation | The purpose of this rhetorical mode is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader. | |
| 270364690 | description | A rhetorical mode based in the five senses. It aims to re-create, invent, or present something so that the reader can experience it. | |
| 270364691 | narration | retelling an event or series of events | |
| 270364692 | sentence structure | The way the sentence is put together. Sentences may be fragments, simple, compound, or complex. Sentence structure also deals with elements such as dependent/ independent clauses, interrogative' declarative sentences, and fragments | |
| 270364693 | stylistic devices | a general term referring to diction, syntax, tone, figurative language, and all other elements that contribute to the "style" or manner of a given piece of discourse | |
| 270364694 | transition | a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph. | |
| 270364695 | understatement | the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is | |
| 270364696 | clause | a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb | |
| 270364697 | figure of speech | A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Examples are apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonomy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement. | |
| 270364698 | generic conventions | the traditions for each genre. These conventions help to define each genre; for example they differentiate between and essay and journalistic writing. | |
| 270364699 | antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers. | |
| 270364700 | attitude | the speaker's position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone | |
| 270364701 | concrete detail | referring to nouns that name physical objects | |
| 270364702 | descriptive detail | a writer's sensory description; most predominant are visual descriptions | |
| 270364703 | devices | The figures of speech, syntax, diction, and other stylistic elements that collectively produce a particular artistic effect | |
| 270364704 | language | how diction, syntax, figurative language, and sentence structure create a cumulative effect | |
| 270364705 | narrative devices | the tools of the storyteller, such as ordering events so that they build to a climatic moment, or withholding information until a crucial or appropriate moment when revealing it will create a desired affect. They include organizational strategies, emphasis on detail, descriptive language, connotation - any of the language or stylistic devices used within the narrative. | |
| 270364706 | narrative technique | The style of telling the "story" even if the passage is nonfiction | |
| 270364707 | persuasive devices | when asked to analyze an author's ______ look for the words in the passage that have strong connotations, that intensify the emotional effect, generally designed to persuade | |
| 270364708 | persuasive essay | presents arguements and tries to convince readers to adopt a certain point of view | |
| 270364709 | resources of language | Refers to all devices of composition available to a writer: diction, syntax, sentence structure, and figures of speech | |
| 270364710 | rhetorical features | Refers to how a passage is constructed; how the writer combines images, details |